Weight Loss Surgery Plateaus, Doldrums and Being Becalmed

Question Below Submitted By:

Lonicera The Bandit (a patient from Bristol, UK)

If I had a penny for every time I have heard the plaintive cry of the WLS blogger why haven’t I lost weight?! I’d be rich. Or better still – if I knew how to persuade them that if they are patient and honest with themselves they would never need to say it again, then I’d bottle it and sell it, and neither me nor my descendants would ever need to work again.

Plateaus need to happen if they didn’t then you would be losing weight too fast and either your health would suffer or you would be complaining further on down the line that you have too much spare skin around your middle and thighs.

One fine day there will be enough money for students to do PhD’s on why weight loss or gain can take days to show on the scales, and its relationship with the fluid we take in and expel, the energy we expend. I have even been so obsessed about it that I have daydreamed about using a toilet with its own built-in weighing scale for before and after. I don’t suppose anyone really understands why the weight of what exits our body doesn’t correspond with the scale afterwards. Or we giggle because we have eaten like pigs and it hasn’t shown up so we think we have got away with it.

Weight-wise be sure that your sins will find you out, and that you won’t need to wait till you get to heaven for the good that you do to be recognized both will show up within the week, trust me.

When you have had weight loss surgery you are very highly motivated at first, particularly as you begin to appreciate what a good tool the gastric band or the gastric sleeve can be. It is much easier, weight is dropping off, people are noticing, you start to experience NSV’s (Non-Scale Victories, e.g. your clothes fit better, you can sit in the bath without it overflowing, you can sit comfortably in an airline seat, etc). Amid the praise you are getting, you protest modestly Thank you, but I have got a long way to goa.

And then for some people the unthinkable happens. Your stubborn other self reappears demanding all the wrong foods, even though they are much easier to resist these days. And then you realize your brain hasn’t changed and you still have to fight. You have learned the tricks of the trade how to eat what you shouldn’t and get it past the band or make it fit in (read stretch) the pouch or the sleeve. Your weight loss stops, you blame it on the procedure not working. The usual problem is that your brain has adjusted (a) to your new weight and (b) to your new regime, but all those years of bad habits are still there, and whether you are aware of it or not, your brain is setting you up to outwit you.

You have to make one of two decisions to stay and fight or re-group.

Fight: Sit down somewhere calm where you can think clearly without interruptions and ask yourself what you really want from life, and how much you are blaming your failure on other people or circumstances. Be realistic. Do you hate exercise but keep forcing yourself to go to the gym to keep your bad conscience at bay? Make a plan you can stick to, however modest. Establish a pattern of behavior that will enable you NOT to think about food and losing weight. And once you have done that, do yourself a favor: this is truly the best friend to the person trying to lose weight find something else to think about. Develop your favorite hobby (mine is writing for example, and it’s been a great help), spend more time away from your thoughts about yourself. It is all slowly grind into gear again. Remember this time it’s different. You don’t have to work up a head of steam to go back on a diet like in the old days. The band/sleeve still works, you have just got to listen to it.

Re-group: Maybe there are circumstances in your life right now which are making it too hard to obey the rules. Well, it happens, don’t be hard on yourself. You may not be able to stick to the deadline you set yourself at the time of your operation, but it doesn’t matter. Be aware that there are many people like you going through the same thing. Be aware as you sit down to a meal that the band is still working, still slowing you down. It is there for you, whether you try to ignore it for six months or not. It is the faithful hound curled up under your chair waiting for you to leap to your feet and cry Walkies!, when he jumps up with eyes sparkling, ready for the next adventure.

Bariatric Procedure Cost Compare Tool

Your out-of-pocket bariatric surgery cost can range anywhere from $0 to $20,000 or more depending on several factors, including:

Whether your insurance covers it – many insurances (including Medicare, Medicaid, and many individual/family and employer-provided policies) cover the majority of costs for gastric sleeve, gastric bypass, LAP-BAND®, and duodenal switch. The other types of bariatric surgery are less likely to be covered, although you may be able to get insurance to pay for some of the costs. Tap the “With Insurance” button in the tool to see average out-of-pocket costs per procedure after insurance pays. See our Insurance Tool to find out if your plan covers it.

Which procedure you choose – if insurance won’t pay, costs range anywhere from $8,000 to $20,000+, depending on the procedure. Tap the “Without Insurance” button in the tool to compare the national average self-pay costs for each procedure. (NOTE: Some surgeons offer each procedure for as low as half of the national average).

How competitive your surgeon and hospital fees are – there is often a substantial difference in costs between different doctors and hospitals, even within the same town.

Whether you qualify for tax write-offs – Bariatric surgery is tax deductible, which can have a big impact on the total cost of surgery. You can deduct medical expenses if your out-of-pocket costs are more than 10% of your adjusted gross income. See our Tax Tool to find out if your bariatric procedure will be tax deductible.

How you choose to pay for your procedure – If insurance covers it, you’ll only be responsible for any copays, deductibles, and coinsurance required by your specific plan. If you pay for the procedure without insurance, total costs will depend on how you pay. For example, your surgeon may offer a discount if you pay the full amount up front, and you can make the costs more affordable by applying for bariatric surgery financing.

LOAN ESTIMATOR TOOL

Weight loss surgery is tax deductible, which can have a big impact on the total cost of surgery. You can deduct medical expenses if the costs are more than 10% of your adjusted gross income.

Use the tool to find out if you qualify for a tax deduction.

To receive the deductions, you’ll need to complete Schedule A of the IRS Form 1040. You’ll also need to save your medical bills and payment statements as proof. Money in one of the following special savings accounts (or even your IRA) may also be a way to pay for part of surgery tax-free:

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